Berries ready to be harvested

Monday

Jul 16, 2012 at 12:01 AMJul 16, 2012 at 4:10 PM

Berry picking season is nearly here and this year’s crop should be exceptionally sweet.

Mark Spencley

Berry picking
Berries ready to be harvested

By MARK SPENCLEY
mark@cheboygantribune.com
CHEBOYGAN – Berry picking season is nearly here and this year’s crop should be exceptionally sweet.
Everyone loves berry pie of some kind. Raspberry, blueberry, and blackberry are staple pie fillings in Michigan and food good reason. The mitten state, the northern portion in particular, is home to abundant wild crops of these three sought-after berry varieties.
In the coming weeks, dessert lovers will have the opportunity to pluck their pie filling and sundae topping straight from the bush as the two-month stretch that is berry-picking season arrives.
Raspberries and blueberries are the first wild berry varieties to ripen in northern Michigan. Though they are found in vastly different terrain, they are usually abundant and they should both be extraordinarily sweet.
According to Duke Elsner, a small fruit specialist with the Michigan State University Extension, dry summers tend to produce sweeter berries.
“Berries will be small, but they should be better tasting,” he said of dry summer growing conditions.
Heavy rainfall through the summer typically makes for plump, juicy berries, but often times these picture-perfect berries are lacking in flavor.
According to Elsner, the additional moisture in the berries dilutes the flavor, making for larger, but ultimately less satisfying berries. This year’s diminutive berries will be packed with flavor, but it’s going to take a while to collect a respectable batch.
“Berry picking is a test of patience, especially when they’re small,” noted Elsner.
Berry picking, namely raspberry and blackberry picking, can also be a test of pain threshold. For those ready for the challenge, the payoff can be priceless.
“Those who venture out should be prepared to have thorns in their hands and arms and legs,” Elsner said, half jokingly.
Timing is of the utmost importance when harvesting berries. Either too early or too late will spoil the trip. Getting berries when they’re ripe means checking them often. Raspberries start ripening in late July and continue through early August. Blueberries come into season at about the same time as raspberries, but they continue to ripen into September. Blackberries reach ideal ripe in late August and early September.
“There is a pretty small window for good berries,” Elsner explained. “Really good berries last for about a week. If you go too soon they’re red and bitter, but if you go too late, they’re over ripe and mushy.”
For berry pickers looking to cash in on the first ripe berries of the season, sunny areas are the best bet. Wild berries that get the most sun will be further along the ripening process. As the season goes on, the opposite with hold true. If most berries seem to be over-ripe, the most secluded, sun-thirsty bushes will hold the most promise.
Blueberries can be harder to find than blackberries and raspberries, but they don’t have thorns to contend with, making for a more enjoyable picking experience for some.
Low bush blueberries, the variety that grow wild in northern Michigan, are typically found in slightly acidic, sandy soil.
“Good areas to look for are those that may have had a burn in the last 10 years,” said Elsner. “There have been some good burns in the last few years, and blueberries are typically one of the first plants to come back.”
Wild blueberries are small, much smaller than the commercially produced variety found on grocery store shelves, but they are equally flavorful and completely organic.
For dedicated souls, the next two months of berry picking can yield enough jam, pie filling, and preserves to last the year. Its not for everyone, but for those who want to give berry picking a shot, they’re their for the taking.

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